Thinking not-so angelic thoughts

Some random thoughts while grazing through clippings on my

cluttered desk and brooding after the Angels blew their first playoff

game at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday:

* Why, oh why, didn’t Scioscia bring in Percival while the

Angeles still had a 5-4 lead with two out in the 8th inning?

* In case you’re also wondering why I wasn’t on the list of 103

movers-and-shakers offered up in the Pilot last week, I must have

been running an errand when they called, so they just moved on

without leaving a message. Deadlines and all that. But I’m happy for

Byron de Arakal. He’s a fine young man with a growing family, and

this will look very good on his resume. I probably won’t be home when

they call next year, either.

* If the City of Newport Beach had started cutting down the ficus

trees at 6 a.m. instead of an hour later, they might have made a

clean sweep instead of leaving those two orphans standing when the

courts put a stop to the operation.

* Relief pitchers who give up walks in late innings of a close

game often end up in some other line of work.

* Supporters of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher who are complaining about

the tactics of his Democratic opponent, Gerrie Schipske, may be too

young -- or too selective -- to remember that he won his seat in the

first place by questioning the citizenship and the college degree of

his Republican primary opponent, Orange County Supervisor Harriett

Wieder. Rohrabacher aside at the time: “All I did was disclose

information that I thought the people deserved to know.”

* I was saddened to read that cartoonist Bill Mauldin is battling

Alzheimer’s disease in a Newport Beach nursing home. He caught with

such wonderful clarity the agonies of World War II dogfaces. What we

sometimes forget are Mauldin’s potent post-war political cartoons.

I’ve had one -- now fast deteriorating -- over my desk for many years

that shows a young family -- mom, dad, three kids -- looking through

the barred gate of a massive stone building. A sign over the gate

reads “The Police State,” and the young mother is saying, “My, it

looks peaceful and safe in there.” I hope to thank him for it. And

maybe send a copy to our Attorney-General.

* There are times to give up the righty-lefty cliche and just go

with the best pitcher you have. Like in the 8th inning Tuesday night,

Mike.

* A subversive friend sent me a Danziger cartoon that takes off

on the recent Mel Gibson movie, “We Were Soldiers.” The cartoon

headline reads: “Coming Soon: The Movie They Don’t Want You To See

... We Weren’t Soldiers.” A large bed has a note on the pillow that

says, “Send somebody else,” and peering out from under the bed are

most of the major players -- except, of course, Colin Powell --

running the current war game for the Bush administration.

* Harry’s Bar in Century City has just been destroyed to make way

for one of those high-rise commercial buildings that seem to be

stamping out so many of life’s watering places. We didn’t go there

often -- and never participated in the bad-Hemingway contest

headquartered at Harry’s -- but every visit was memorable. So

memorable that my wife and I sought out the original Harry’s in

Venice, Italy a few years ago and paid an outrageous price for two

drinks just to enjoy the civility of that hallowed environment.

* If you think politics are tough around these parts, consider

Charlotte, N.C., where Republican officials are using escorts from

the National Rifle Assn. to protect their candidates on visits to

immigrant neighborhoods that might be uncomfortable for some

volunteers. The genius who came up with this caper said that “NRA

members will cover neighborhoods that might be uncomfortable for some

volunteers.” Then he added thoughtfully that he hoped the NRA escorts

wouldn’t be carrying guns. Later, he added that the problem was

really fast-moving traffic rather than crime. In this revised

version, the NRA escorts are apparently to counter armed motorists.

* I’ve seen Scott Spiezio make the play that allowed the tying

run to score a dozen times this year. But even after that run scored,

there was still time to bring in Percival.

* A few weeks ago, a letter writer to the Pilot was trying to

help local voters by pairing city council candidates with well-known

political figures. It was an earnest effort, and he was probably in

the ballpark until he got to the “moderate right.” I’ll grant that

moderate Republicans are hard to come by in Orange County, but his

examples didn’t help much. He paired Colin Powell and Dana

Rohrabacher -- who are about as close philosophically as Arthur

Miller and Ayn Rand -- in the moderate right category.

* Another forum contributor wrote: “I consider any American

against this enemy [who] at this time preaches pacifism as dangerous

to my family’s health.” Although he wasn’t specific, he is, of

course, referring to the president’s father and several members of

his cabinet who were the first Americans to challenge publicly the

administration’s current war policy.

Finally, Steve Smith was right when he took me to task for putting

the Angels in the play-offs before they actually got there. This is

both dangerous and unwise, especially considering their history. They

scared the daylights out of me before they righted themselves and won

the wild card. I was checking out monasteries at the time since my

guild would have allowed no other solution. But, as Steve said, I’m

off the hook now and I will make no more predictions -- except that

some of my pointy-headed friends will be extremely glad when this is

over so we can get back to talking politics again.

* JOSEPH N. BELL is a resident of Santa Ana Heights. His column

appears Thursdays.